JAKARTA - The Chinese government has condemned the United States (US) for including several major companies in the country such as Alibaba, BYD to Baidu in a list of companies that are considered to help the military.
"China firmly opposes the US overstepping the concept of national security and formulating various types of discriminatory lists to target Chinese businesses," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press conference in Beijing, reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, June 10.
The United States designated Chinese giant companies Alibaba, BYD, and Baidu as companies that support the Chinese military in the update of the Chinese military company on Monday (8/6).
The list of "Chinese military companies" set by the Pentagon and updated annually, now includes 188 companies, up from 134 companies in 2025.
The US Department of Defense will be prohibited from the end of this month to carry out direct contracts with companies on the list, and to purchase their products or services through third parties starting in 2027. The list has been in place since 2021.
The Pentagon defines "Chinese military companies" as entities owned or controlled by the Chinese military, or that contribute to China's "military-civilian fusion" - Beijing's strategy to combine civilian and defense research and innovation.
"We urge the US to correct its mistakes, and stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese businesses. We will do what is necessary to protect their legitimate and lawful rights and interests," Lin Jian added.
However, the companies can apply for removal. Companies can sometimes be removed from the list, not because the US determines they are not related to the Chinese military, but because they are no longer operating in the US or because the entity's name has changed.
In its latest list, the Pentagon included financial technology company Alibaba, electric vehicle maker BYD, and internet search provider Baidu for supporting China's military development through their affiliations with the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The list also includes RoboSense Technology, an artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics company headquartered in Shenzhen, robot maker Humanoid Unitree Robotics based in Hangzhou, biotech company WuXi AppTec, to China's top memory chip makers, CXMT and YMTC.
Technology company Tencent, owner of messaging app WeChat and maker of "drones" DJI, was already on the "military companies list" the previous year.
The expansion of the blacklist comes less than a month after Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump met in Beijing for two days to mend relations between the two countries that have been strained for months due to a trade war and years of technological rivalry.
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